Preparing for bare metal cluster installation

Prerequisites

• You reviewed details about the OKD installation and update processes.

• You have read the documentation on selecting a cluster installation method and preparing it for users.

Choosing a method to install OKD on bare metal

You can install OKD on installer-provisioned or user-provisioned infrastructure. The default installation type uses installer-provisioned infrastructure, where the installation program provisions the underlying infrastructure for the cluster. You can also install OKD on infrastructure that you provision. If you do not use infrastructure that the installation program provisions, you must manage and maintain the cluster resources yourself.

See Installation process for more information about installer-provisioned and user-provisioned installation processes.

Installing a cluster on installer-provisioned infrastructure

You can install a cluster on bare metal infrastructure that is provisioned by the OKD installation program, by using the following method:

• Installing an installer-provisioned cluster on bare metal: You can install OKD on bare metal by using installer provisioning.

Installing a cluster on user-provisioned infrastructure

You can install a cluster on bare metal infrastructure that you provision, by using one of the following methods:

• Installing a user-provisioned cluster on bare metal: You can install OKD on bare metal infrastructure that you provision. For a cluster that contains user-provisioned infrastructure, you must deploy all of the required machines.

• Installing a user-provisioned bare metal cluster with network customizations: You can install a bare metal cluster on user-provisioned infrastructure with network-customizations. By customizing your network configuration, your cluster can coexist with existing IP address allocations in your environment and integrate with existing MTU and VXLAN configurations. Most of the network customizations must be applied at the installation stage.

• Installing a user-provisioned bare metal cluster on a restricted network: You can install a user-provisioned bare metal cluster on a restricted or disconnected network by using a mirror registry. You can also use this installation method to ensure that your clusters only use container images that satisfy your organizational controls on external content.